Jiang Shi and He Lanchán were fellow disciples?
Qin Shi's heart jolted. Old Liang had indeed been hiding his true abilities.
If he was connected to the First Generation Ten Prodigies, how could Hong Sheng's background be anything but impressive?
Those Top Martial Artists, figures of towering stature, had ventured to the Galactic Frontier time and again, fought on the battlefield, and left behind legends.
In the end, they had returned alive, draped in glory, opened starry-sky dojos, and stood at the peak of the starry sea.
Even a governor who ruled an Administrative Star—a powerful official entrusted with a territory—would have to show them some respect.
They'd greet them with the utmost courtesy and wouldn't dare slight them.
"What are you thinking? He Lanchán never had a proper master in his life. He learned from anyone willing to teach him. There are countless sects with some connection to him.
"If you ever leave Old Factory Street and Hengzhou, you can take a trip to Jingzhou.
"Then you'll find that dojos bearing He Lanchán's name are as common as restaurants on the street advertising themselves as 'time-honored brands.'"
Old Liang was speechless. His disciple was good in every way, except for one thing.
He was always thinking about latching onto powerful connections and finding a backer.
He had none of the drive to struggle and grow through his own hard work.
Had there ever been a Top Martial Artist, past or present,
who had become a major figure by relying on a powerful sect and a broad network of connections?
Well, actually, maybe there had.
Old Liang thought for a moment, and a name popped into his head.
Jiang Baichuan, the grand patriarch of the First Generation Ten Prodigies!
His father, Jiang Wanli, was an unassuming man—the first Half-step Martial God of the Great Pioneer Movement, and the supreme commander stationed at Gouchen Ancient Star.
His older brother, Jiang Qianliu, was an honorary academician at Eastern Xia's highest research center and a committee member appointed by the Four Great National Universities. He was the youngest powerbroker in academic circles.
His son, Jiang Weiyi, was said to have been watched over and blessed by an otherworldly deity while still in the womb. He was a chosen one of heaven, a rising star of the new generation with a chance to break Qi Wuxiang's record for winning the Stellar Cup.
Many busybodies, both envious and jealous, joked in private that Jiang Baichuan's life was simple and pure.
It was probably just a trilogy: My Marshal Father, My Academician Brother, and My Heavenly Prodigy Son.
"Master Liang, it's just the two of us here. You don't have to keep anything from me.
"Even if I really were a fellow disciple of one of the Ten Prodigies, I wouldn't go around telling people just to draw attention to myself."
Qin Shi gazed eagerly at his master. He looked like someone who'd grown up poor for more than a decade and desperately hoped his parents were actually billionaires, just waiting until he came of age to reveal the truth.
These days, if you had a chance to latch onto a powerful connection and coast on someone else's success, who'd choose to struggle on their own?
He'd dreamed of Old Liang actually being an unparalleled expert with an unimaginably lofty status,
who had merely gone incognito and ended up retiring in Old Factory Street.
Now that their ten-year agreement had come due, Master Liang would smirk, and the retired Dragon King would reclaim his throne!
With a single word, he could get Qin Shi recruited by one of the Four Great National Universities!
"Read fewer third-rate novels. Legendary lives belong only to protagonists who've gathered the momentum of fate, Shi."
Old Liang looked at the expectant expression on his disciple's face and sighed helplessly.
"Your master truly doesn't have any special background. Think about it: Hengzhou's been sealed off from the outside world for years. Every time we watch the Stellar Cup, we have to wait for the broadcast. What capable expert would want to stay here?"
That did make sense.
Hengzhou New Star wasn't exactly a great place. It was nowhere near a first-tier Administrative Star like the Imperial Capital or Haizhou.
Qin Shi's shoulders slumped as he accepted reality.
His dream of winning by clinging to his master's coattails had shattered.
"Back to He Lanchán. He grew up in the junk district and suffered from a genetic disease, so he was born with a frail constitution. Later, he was lucky enough to come across an opportunity and set out from remote Yazhou.
"In his life, he worshiped at so many sects, learned so many arts, and bowed to so many masters that the number must have been at least eighty, if not a hundred."
When Old Liang spoke of his idol, his eyes sparkled. He was every bit the devoted fan.
"Hong Sheng was just one of the places he stayed. He studied under my grandmaster for a while, so you could barely call him an unofficial disciple. Trying to claim a connection beyond that would only make us a laughingstock."
Qin Shi felt a pang of regret. He'd almost been able to call the Stone Buddha his martial uncle.
He Lanchán's talent and brilliance were so extraordinary they were hard to believe. Jingzhou was teeming with gifted people, but his grandmaster had been arrogant and had never thought much of anyone. Yet when he met He Lanchán, he'd wanted to hand over everything he knew.
Old Liang smiled happily. Whenever he remembered his master grumbling in a sour tone that the grandmaster favored He Lanchán and was turning his elbow outward, he couldn't help laughing.
"He Lanchuan mastered Hong Sheng's Hundred Forms Cultivating Momentum in two months. Out of gratitude for the teachings, he called my grandmaster 'Master.'"
"During the Stellar Cup, in his match against Qi Wuxiang, he unleashed a stunning technique called 'Myriad Forms Annihilation.' It contained endless imagery, as if the stars were collapsing and the sun and moon sinking into ruin.
"Tracing it back to its roots, it came from Hong Sheng's Hundred Forms Cultivating Momentum. My master watched the broadcast, then sat in meditation all night, unable to come back to himself.
"He probably never imagined his own boxing art could be carried forward and transformed to such a degree.
"He was delighted, but also couldn't help feeling wistful, as if he'd let down the generations of Hong Sheng's founders."
Myriad Forms Annihilation?
One of the Stone Buddha's five signature killing moves?
It had actually come from Hong Sheng's teachings?
Qin Shi couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath.
A teacher at New No. 1 Middle School had once played highlights from past Stellar Cups in the computer lab. The first match between He Lanchán and Qi Wuxiang ranked among the top five in terms of sheer classic status.
"Martial arts is a path to truth, and a path of striving to cross the river.
"Everyone who sets foot on this path has to seek the 'momentum' that best suits them.
"I told you before that training methods include two disciplines: Body Cultivation and Spirit Cultivation.
"Hong Sheng's Hundred Forms Cultivating Momentum is a Spirit Cultivation method that uses the mind as a furnace to seize the images of all things.
"Once mastered, birds and beasts, wind, forest, fire, and mountain can all become forms, and all can be put to use."
Old Liang spoke evenly, each word clear.
"As far as its underlying idea goes, it's undeniably profound. Otherwise, it wouldn't have caught He Lanchán's eye.
"But the problem is that the barrier to entry is just as high. Of the Seven Great Limits of the Physical Body, the Spirit Gate is the hardest to overcome.
"Since ancient times, cultivating the spirit and qi has been far more difficult than training sinew and strength.
"Take Hong Sheng's own inheritance. It has only four kinds of 'momentum' in all:
"Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain.
"My grandmaster had eight disciples. My master was the most outstanding, yet he only managed to cultivate three.
"As for me, I'm not as good as my master, let alone my grandmaster."
Got it.
The grandmaster had been so capable and attained such a high level that he hadn't considered how inadequate his descendants might be!
He'd taught them the Theory of Relativity, but his disciples could barely understand Calculus!
Qin Shi mulled it over, then asked:
"Then how many kinds did He Lanchán cultivate?"
Old Liang gave a wry smile.
"He studied under my grandmaster at the dojo and mastered all four: Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain. After that, he fought in the Stellar Cup and made a name for himself across the starry sea. They say he cultivated a total of eight thousand eight hundred forms, from natural forces as small as water dripping through stone and plants withering, to forces of destruction as vast as mountains collapsing and the Milky Way hanging upside down. His repertoire encompassed an infinity of possibilities.
"Why have He Lanchán's supporters never accepted Qi Wuxiang as the number-one member of the Ten Prodigies? Because if the dual sacred trees hadn't saved King Qi's life and blocked that killing blow during their first match, his legendary career—four championships in ten years—would have ended before it even began."
What?
Eight thousand eight hundred kinds!
How terrifying was the Stone Buddha's "spirit," exactly?
It could contain such an immense and complex range of "momentum"—
and refine it all, making it his own!
Qin Shi clicked his tongue, unable to imagine it.
The First Generation Ten Prodigies who'd made a name for themselves across the starry sea were far too monstrous.
No wonder the new generation of Heavenly Prodigies, people like Yu Li, Fu Zhao, and Jiang Weiyi,
could rise to prominence one after another, display extraordinary talent, and receive lavish publicity from the Martial Arts Association, yet still fail to win over legions of "ancient-era worshippers."
There was no helping it!
The old-timers had been so dazzling that they left those who came later looking dim by comparison.
"Across the boundless starry sea, among the countless trillions of beings, only one He Lanchán has appeared in several thousand years.
"Eight thousand eight hundred kinds of momentum sounds grand, but he started with Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain, gradually accumulated his foundation, and only then soared to the heavens.
"You don't need to set your sights too high, Shi. The boundless starry sea lies before you, but the road is beneath your feet. You can't reach the sky in a single step."
Old Liang gave him a solemn warning and some guidance.
"Once your Life Force breaks through the twenty-point mark, I'll teach you the true method of Spirit Cultivation.
"For now, you've only just broken through the Sinew Gate limit. You're merely qualified to learn about 'momentum.'"
Qin Shi quickly sat up straight and listened attentively.
As Old Liang explained things in simple, accessible terms, Qin Shi began to understand.
The so-called "momentum" was the "mind" embracing "heaven and earth."
It wasn't exclusive to the Old Martial Arts Faction.
On the contrary,
the New Martial Arts Faction had been the driving force behind popularizing it, developing it further, and making it more accessible.
Take the famous Military Boxing, for instance. It contained a great deal of "momentum."
Many generals and senior colonels famous for decapitating enemy commanders and seizing their banners had comprehended deadly moves from it.
"Heavy Cannon Style," "Battle Axe Style," "Tank Cannon Fist," and "Fighter Jet Soaring Movement" were all well-known signature techniques of the New Martial Arts Faction.
Even some street-corner magazines repeated the half-true story that Marshal Qin, one of Eastern Xia's Twin Pillars,
had once defeated an otherworldly deity with a single move called "A Million Soldiers Crossing the River," opened new territories, and accomplished achievements that would endure for generations.
"As swift as the wind, as gentle as the forest, as fierce as fire, and as immovable as the mountain..."
Qin Shi mulled over what he'd learned that day and asked casually:
"Master Liang, which kind of momentum are you best at?"
"I've already lost a leg. I'm just barely clinging to life."
Old Liang chuckled.
"I haven't fought anyone in years. Most of my skills have long since gone to rust."
Qin Shi immediately fell silent. He dutifully helped his master to his feet, then put his own T-shirt back on.
After breaking through the Sinew Gate limit today, his Life Force should have made considerable progress.
His gaze sharpened.
The Growth Value on the Monument Panel
had quietly reached [0.010%].
"Ten points. I've entered the ranks!"
Before you continue